What should we see on a driving trip from Chicago to Maine to Florida?

September 9, 2007 6:59 PM

We're driving from Chicago, to Maine, to Florida, and back on a 2 week vacation. What points of interest should we try to plan into our vacation? We do not usually enjoy guided tours, but are happy to research an area and lead ourselves around, love nature, architecture, hiking, etc.

My wife and I are taking 2 weeks (3 weekends + the 2 weeks) and doing a driving tour of the east coast. We did this same type of trip out west (hitting almost all of the major parks for a day or so each), and we had a blast (putting 6000+ miles on the car). We had plenty of milestones to hit out there, so we had a pretty busy schedule.

As stated, we're driving out from Chicago, up to Maine (stopping at Niagra falls), then down the coast to Florida, then back to Chicago.

The only places we know we want to stop at are Niagra Falls, Lake Placid in NC (my wife visited there when she was young and loved it), Oriental NC (I am interested in sailing, and it's supposed to be a neat sailing town), and Charleston SC (looking at houses & gardens & such)

We do not like guided tours, we often get impatient. We're not too much into historical things (tours of 1790's linen factories would be not so great).

We enjoy nature (ocean/forests/etc), houses/architecture (old, large, unique, etc), botanic gardens, museums, sailing (any short trips we could take somewhere?), nice walking areas (old towns, trails, etc)

We're skipping Manhattan as we're planning a separate vacation there. Everything else is fair game though.

Does anyone have any ideas that might help us plan our trip?

posted by ceberon to Travel & Transportation (24 answers total)

Where in Maine are you going? This state is chock full of the type of thing you're looking for!
posted by suki at 7:10 PM on September 9, 2007

what time of year?
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:14 PM on September 9, 2007

One thing you might want to consider for the first leg of your route to Maine is to go through Ontario. I mention this for a few reasons. The first of which is that since you're keen on visiting Niagara Falls, you'll be missing out on the best side of it if you don't see the Ontario side. From there, it's clear sailing up Highway 401 through Toronto, Kingston and Montreal. No tolls either. After Montreal it's almost straight East out to Bangor and you cross through some amazing terrain either through Vermont or New Hampshire (depending on your route). I checked Google and the distance is roughly the same either via Ontario or via NY turnpikes.
posted by runningdogofcapitalism at 7:16 PM on September 9, 2007

Swan Lake Iris Garden, SC -- admittedly not much to do besides look at plants, but a great place to stop for a picnic lunch.

One place to stop in southern MD/northern VA is Great Falls, although after Niagra it could be a bit of a let down (the hiking trails are still nice, though). Also when you drive through Virginia, be sure to drive through the mountain part (hit Skyline Drive if you can take the time).
posted by anaelith at 7:28 PM on September 9, 2007

Second that Niagara Falls should be experienced, if at all, from Ontario. In Maine, spend some time in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.

Because you're focusing on coastal areas, make sure to ditch the I-95 corridor in Delaware. Follow Delaware Route 1 to US 13, down the Delmarva peninsula and across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. From there it's a couple of hours to the Outer Banks.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 7:32 PM on September 9, 2007

Response by poster: We're leaving this Friday, September 14th-30th.

We don't know where in Maine we're going, we just want to visit. If anyone knows a good location to visit, please let me know.
posted by ceberon at 7:35 PM on September 9, 2007

(I am interested in sailing)

So you should make sure to go to Mystic Seaport. Never mind that it's a history museum - you'll love it (it's sailing Nirvana) and the kids will too.

In Maine, you have any number of choices - Bar Harbor (great family destination, Acadia National Park, plenty to do), Boothbay Harbor, Portland, York Beach. It definitely depends what time of year you're coming; Maine is highly seasonal. Anything outside the June-October window will be less fun weatherwise and with reduced hours/things to do.

If I only had 2 weeks on the East Coast I'd definitely want to spend a day each in Boston, Philly, and Washington DC.

The Great Smoky Mountains would get you another National Park.
posted by Miko at 7:36 PM on September 9, 2007

It may not seem like it, but Florida is a big place when it comes to ecosystems represented. Where will you be visiting?
posted by dondiego87 at 7:37 PM on September 9, 2007

A place in Maine I think you'd enjoy is Fort Knox (the other one). It's historical, but it's no linen factory. Right next to it is a very cool brand new suspension bridge, the Penobscot Narrows Bridge, which is the only suspension bridge in the world with an observatory in one of its towers.
posted by beagle at 7:38 PM on September 9, 2007

If you wind up coming down into Vermont after going through Ontario (a detour I also recommend) you might enjoy noodling around North and South Hero which are on the northern end of Lake Champlain. Nice, not too populated -- though everything is really chock full of people from the end of Sept. through the middle of October -- and really neat for walking around and looking at stuff. If you wind up closer down my way in Central Vermont I can recommend a lot of places to just go walk around and look at both funky old buildings and decent forests as well as recommend some places to stay. I also recommend Acadia and avoiding 95 like the plague OR powering through some of it to put some distance between you and the BOSNYWASH corridor and then really relaxing once you're in Delaware, etc.

Other places I think are lovely are the Raleigh/Durham area of NC, the Great Smokey Mounains and the weird Florida panhandle.
posted by jessamyn at 7:40 PM on September 9, 2007

Response by poster: As for any other questions about where in each state we're visiting, we're wide open. We just want to drive the coast, see cool things, etc. So if there's anything neat in the eastern states, please mention it and we'll see what we can fit in :)

Thanks a ton for all of the suggestions so far, it looks like a lot of good ideas.
posted by ceberon at 7:44 PM on September 9, 2007

Response by poster: And if it matters on something, we do not have children, it will be just the wife and I.
posted by ceberon at 7:51 PM on September 9, 2007

Re: the detour through Ontario: it is probably faster, but the 401 is boooooooring road. Don't be under any illusions that it will be more scenic because it's Canada. Also, be ready for insanely aggressive tailgating on the 401 within 2 hours of Toronto.

Toronto is a great city with tons of different neighborhoods with their own character. Do research ahead to decide where to go, if you want to go. (lots of threads on this on AskMefi)

Kingston is a small and nice city about 3 hours east of Toronto that makes a nice trip-break mid-day. It's at the other end of the lake from Niagara. The Thousand Islands are there and very scenic. Kingston's historic downtown is pretty and a compact quick walk; there are good restaurants (Chez Piggy and its associated bakery are traditional favorites; the Kingston Brewing Company is a great pub with its own excellent beers; Wooden Heads pizza downtown is good; the Sleepless Goat is a funky vegetarian coffeeshop/cafe/bar); there's a tiny waterfront; there's a great and eclectic game and science-toy and novelty store called Minotaur at 165 Princess (the main drag). There's a free ferry over to Wolfe Island, a mainly farming island in the St. Lawrence. There's luxurious b and b there; if you go, there's a little greasy-spoon restaurant a little ways down the road (right turn as you're coming up from the ferry) that has a patio out back with a nice view back to town. There are also plenty of good hotels/b and bs in downtown Kingston, so a good place to break the trip if the timing works out.

Drive through Montreal and end up on 10 going east. (Be aware that in Montreal, the road signs are in French. If you stop at, eg a fast food place people really will speak French to you, and they might not know English. It gets me every time.) There's great food etc in Montreal; check other threads here for info on that. From 10, you'll hit 410/91 in Magog - head south. What I typically do at this point is take 2 east, and then go south on 26. Then take 11 through the nightmare of bad signage and confusion that is Lewiston/Auburn, to 196, down to Rte 1. Marvel at the big machinery and cranes in the Bath shipyards as you go across the bridge.

Rte 1 runs up the coast and takes you through a series of cute small towns (Wiscasset, a drive south to Boothbay Harbor, Damariscotta) - this is the "midcoast". It's very nice, lots of sailing, b and bs, etc. Funky pottery and art items at Edgecomb Potters. The Camden Hills are great, a bit further north/east. Consider whether you want to take the time to go all the way up to Bar Harbor et al.

Portland has a great funky downtown bar/shopping/peoplewatching area called the Old Port. Freeport is famous for having lots of outlets and medium to high end shopping (including the 24 hour L L Bean).
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:43 PM on September 9, 2007

Oh - forgot about Lake Placid. You won't be coming out of Montreal the way I recommended, then. Obvs, you will go 15/87 down to the Adirondacks (which are awesome).
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:55 PM on September 9, 2007

Let me put in a plug for the Jersey Shore, then. If you take the chance to get onto the beaches in New Jersey, you'll find yourself surprised at their beauty and won't ever hear NJ jokes in the same way again. For natural beaches, head for Sandy Hook (great ranger programs, a lighthouse tour) on the North End, then Island Beach State Park midstate. Good boardwalk towns include Point Pleasant, Seaside Heights, Ocean City (my fave), Wildwood (enormous beach and boardwalk) and Cape May for a lovely little tourist area. Check out Lucy the Margate Elephant if she's open - nice photo op.
posted by Miko at 9:39 PM on September 9, 2007

for the florida leg - you should hit both coasts for sure. You'll probably be coming in via I-95, in which case you should hop on the 1A as soon as possible (I think you can pick it up just south of jacksonville). It's more or less the scenic route down the east coast. Sadly, i can't give you much advice as to what to do on the east coast. Someone will come along and recommend the good parks and beaches, hopefully.

What I recommend you do, though, is once you hit Melbourne, FL, take this route over to sarasota, which gives you a nice swampy, lakey drive with some cool parks and detours without having to go through the everglades, which get old quickly.

That route more or less takes you to Sarasota, Florida, home of the amazing Sarasota Succulent Society & Gardens, which is a must-see if you want a good tropical garden. From there, mosey on up to St. Petersburg, FL. St. Pete has a really cool little downtown which you should surely check out. But don't spend too much time, because St. Pete is home of St. Pete Beach. At St. Pete Beach, check out (but maybe don't stay at) the historic Don CeSar hotel, a gorgeous building and historical attraction (F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald vacationed there often.) If you actually want to hit the beach, go for either Pass-a-Grille or Fort Desoto Beach (Desoto also has a pretty sweet fort, too, as the name suggests. IIRC, most of it is explorable to the public)

After the beaching, head up to my hometown, Tampa. In Tampa, check the historic parts of Ybor City (eat at Mema's Alaskan Tacos, on 8th), take a walk on Bayshore Boulevard (nighttime and sunrise are the best times), visit The University of Tampa's campus, walk on the pier of Ballast Point (again at night or sunrise), and hope it's not too hot. From there, head north, check out Tarpon Springs and get some killer greek food while you're at it (Specifically Fournos Bakery, Hellas Bakery, Hellas Restaurant, and Mykonos Restaurant).

AND, I almost forgot. When in Tampa, you MUST eat at The Taco Bus. It's amazing.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 11:55 PM on September 9, 2007

the 1A

I think you mean A1A (there are no signs with just "1A" on them), which meets I-95 just north of Jacksonville ("Where Florida Begins," which is true for the First Coast, if a bit hokey). If you're going to drive down A1A, you would be missing out if you didn't start in Fernandina Beach (across the St. Mary's River from Georgia, where Florida begins geographically). North of Fernandina, on the river itself, is Fort Clinch State Park, a half-finished Civil War-era fort, often with reenactors. From there, you drive south through Amelia Island, passing through several scenic state parks (I think there are hiking trails) until you get to the Mayport Ferry ($3.25 for a two-axle car). Next to the docks on the south side of the river, you will find a very good seafood shack whose name escapes me at the moment. Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty—there are napkins.

The drive down A1A continues through Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, and Ponte Vedra Beach. Ponte Vedra has beautiful beaches, and as long as you can find somewhere to park, nobody can charge you admission to the beach. Depending on the day of the week, you may be able to park at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club. It may still be too warm to explore comfortably at this time of year, but Guana River State Park is along A1A south of Ponte Vedra. The barrier island ends at Vilano Beach, and A1A goes across the Intracoastal into St. Augustine.

St. Augustine, the nation's oldest city, is where Florida begins chronologically. What you'll find there varies between genuinely interesting historical structures (Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, the pedestrian zone in the old city) to really kitschy (Ripley's, the Fountain of Youth). There are interesting shops, and you can get a really pretty view of the harbor by walking down Avenida Menendez. If you've never been there before, it's easy to spend a whole day there, and as long as you stay in the old city, it's pretty picturesque. Continue on A1A across the Bridge of Lions (the lions themselves may not have been replaced yet) to St. Augustine Beach and Anastasia State Park.

South of St. Augustine, you'll find Fort Matanzas National Monument and Marineland of Florida. A1A continues down to Palm Coast, and I don't really know much about south of that until you get to Sebastian (and I haven't actually been there in about five years).

Roads that will get you between A1A and I-95 are, from the A1A/I-95 interchange southward: SR 105 (Heckscher Drive, from SR 9A if you're coming from the north), SR 10 (Atlantic Blvd), US 90 (Beach Blvd), SR 202 (Butler Blvd, an expressway), CR 210 (best used to head from Ponte Vedra to points south), SR 16, SR 206, and Palm Coast Parkway.

If you need more info, I'm sure I could post more.
posted by oaf at 5:15 AM on September 10, 2007

yeah, I meant the A1A.
It was late.
and i agree with oaf about St.Augustine being a must-see, too. I love that city.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 6:36 AM on September 10, 2007

Definitely go to Washington, DC, and St. Augustine. It might be fun to just kind of get lost in Georgia. There are some very beautiful places there, if you get off the beaten path.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 7:10 AM on September 10, 2007

When you're in St Augustine make sure to eat at Columbia restaurant-it's the closest you'll get to true Cuban food without going to Ybor City in downtown Tampa. The state park on Anastasia Island just over the Bridge of Lions has beautiful beaches and shady picnic areas-driving around the island will show you more than just typical Florida foliage.
posted by hollygoheavy at 8:45 AM on September 10, 2007

Oh, I forgot to add Jekyll Island and Cumberland Island on the southeast Georgia coast. Savannah is a fun city to wander around as well.
posted by hollygoheavy at 8:47 AM on September 10, 2007

About the 401, yep it's dull and flat. But then again, you'll find that to be the case for most of the I-95, too.

But speaking from experience, it's my preferred route over the turnpike.

If you were thinking of avoiding Montreal and its notorious traffic issues, and you wanted to take in the Lake Champlain region (which is fantastic at this time of year), one option would be to cross back over into the U.S. at Cornwall/Massena. From there, you'd navigate some backroads for about an hour to hook up with the I-87. It's a very pleasant drive and I've done it countless times to get to Vermont for skiing in winter.

I can't comment on the I-95 between Maine and VA because I have always avoided it since it involves some pretty grim driving through NYC and other metro areas. In doing so, I've lucked in on finding all kinds of neat little out-of-the-ways spots in VT and PA. Most are the kinds you just kinda find about by accident.

If you can avoid stopping in Fredricksburg, VA for hotel accommodation, do so as the traffic there is terrible, the prices astronomic and the quality of hotels is at best questionable. Most stop there because they hit the region at a time a day when they're exhausted. I've had much better stays further south down the highway just before and right after Richmond, VA.

I'll second the recommendation of St. Augustine as a great stop in Florida. Further up the coast, Charleston SC is great too with some rather fabulous architecture and restaurants.
posted by runningdogofcapitalism at 10:16 AM on September 10, 2007

Sadly I must also recommend avoiding the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. I'll be charitable in saying that the budget cuts that place has endured over the last several decades really have left their mark. They expect a king's ransom to get in and then reward you with a bus tour from hell. Okay granted in our case, it was really the bus operator's obnoxious behaviour that spoiled it for us...but I would be remiss if I didn't say caveat emptor.
posted by runningdogofcapitalism at 10:21 AM on September 10, 2007

If you decide to go to Tampa, and want to eat some real cuban food, shoot me an email, and i'll gladly give you the restaurant rundown.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 1:45 PM on September 11, 2007